BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Africa’s Voices: Reflections on a pilot study using mobile phone
 s and interactive radio to survey public opinion in Africa - Claudia Abreu
  Lopes\, CGHR Post-doctoral Research Associate
DTSTART:20121120T130000Z
DTEND:20121120T140000Z
UID:TALK41320@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Thomas J.W. Probert
DESCRIPTION:The widespread use of mobile phones in the global south over t
 he last decade has posed new challenges for development researchers\, orga
 nizations and practitioners. Innovative research focusing on the beneficia
 l impact of mobile phones for economic and social development has opened t
 he recent field of Mobiles for Development (M4D). A promising line of rese
 arch looks into the way mobile technology has been incorporated into local
  contexts and cultures to create new opportunities for political participa
 tion generating governance outcomes. \n\n“Africa’s Voices” combines 
 mobile phones and interactive radio using FrontlineSMS to survey audiences
 ’ opinions on governance and development issues. Radios stations based c
 urrently on nine African countries ask weekly questions to their listeners
  who answer via SMS. The answers were exported to CGHR for comparative ana
 lysis and the results shared with the stations producing material for radi
 o shows. By encouraging debate and accountability\, Africa’s Voices aims
  to be a continental-wide collaborative platform on African’s public opi
 nion. \n\nThe one-year pilot of Africa’s Voices is a quasi-experimental 
 design aimed to test and compare different methodologies to optimize the i
 mplementation of the project. Working closely with FrontlineSMS\, radio st
 ations\, and receiving inputs from the audiences\, the pilot has allowed t
 o explore methodological innovations and to reflect upon ethical challenge
 s. In this seminar\, the research background and preliminary insights of 
 “Africa’s Voices” pilot will be presented leading to discussion arou
 nd the potential and limitations of conducting ICT-based research in the A
 frican context.\n
LOCATION:Room 119\, Alison Richard Building\, Sidgwick Site\, 7 West Rd\, 
 CB3 9DT
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR